What should you hear?

@larryi --

I agree that imaging on some classical orchestral recordings can be quite impressive. I like recorded music for that aspect of performance. But, arguably, it is not that realistic because you almost never get the kind of precise instrument placements one has on recordings when hearing the music live. If you close your eyes at a orchestral performance, you really don't hear as precise an image; you use your eyes to get the placement. I don't care that much that most recordings are, in that sense, unrealistic, because I like what I hear.

Important point raised regarding the perceived experience of live music vs. its reproduced state in front of a home stereo. In that sense and on a broader scale it could easily be argued that the cultivation of reproduced music tends to be something of its own rather than more authentically emulating a live reference (un-amplified or not). We're not always given that much to work with in light of the nature of a range of recordings, but that being said, and irrespective of the nature of said recordings, what is sought after is usually more of a magnifying glass placed over a limited area on a canvas rather than seeing the scope of a bigger picture - with all that entails one way and the other..

@rodman99999 --

People that attend live musical events and fail to locate instrumental voices, via ear, should spend a bit more, on their seating.       Of course; it helps to know something about the hall/venue, the seating arrangements, and acoustics.        For acoustic Jazz, Blues, Chamber Music, etc gigs: get there earlier and pick a seat, that allows for a balanced sound stage, imagining where binaural mics might be placed, if one were recording.                   That’s all assuming venues with decent acoustics.

From my chair it's not about "fail[ing] to locate instrumental voices," but rather that the sonic nature of a live acoustic event deviates intrinsically from a reproduced ditto in a home setting, and that also in the sense that the precision of instrumental placement that can be found in the latter isn't as pronounced in the former. These impressions are based on a variety of concert venues with very good to excellent acoustics, positioned mid-hall or the 3/4 section of the seating rows, as centered as possible. I'm a fiend when it comes to finding the proper seating position, mind you. 

Still, despite the fundamental difference of presentation from a live acoustic event (less so an amplified one), it's my go-to reference when trying to humbly approximate its traits/characteristics via the home stereo, and not the other way round.